The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
I have been incredibly busy in January – even busier than I was in December – but have luckily found time to review this short novel in time for it to count towards the Japanese Reading Challenge, and with one day to spare!
A young housekeeper is sent to look after an old maths professor with a peculiar problem: due to an accident his working memory only lasts 80 minutes. Every morning the Housekeeper and the Professor become reacquainted. Although the professor can only remember eloquent maths formulas, a bond forms between the two.
First Impressions: When I flipped through the novel I saw a few mathematical formula scattered here and there so I worried that perhaps too much of the text would be over my head. Not true! The novel wasn’t as sentimental as I feared either. Ogawa writes with the detached style typical of Japanese authors.
Highlights: Much to my surprise I loved the mathematical musings and found myself trying to work out the problems before the answer was revealed! I felt the same about the many references to baseball teams and statistics, which I was not expecting. I found the Housekeeper’s backstory to be really interesting and would have loved more of this to be included.
If I was an editor: I would find it hard to think of a way to improve this story. More intrigue is always encouraged. Much to my relief it wasn’t overly sentimental and neither was the ending predictable. I do now realise I approached the story expecting (fearing?) a European narrative.
Overall: A great example of Japanese fiction for western readers. A touching way to wrap up my Japanese Literature Challenge.
The Housekeeper and the Professor: 4 stars
Orange Pekoe Reviews 
It is interesting that so many Japanese authors tend to write in a sort of detached way, seeing as most of the Japanese people that I know (which is a lot as I live in Japan!) are way more sentimental than British people that I know.
Somehow I’ve had it in my mind that this novel is sweet and “twee,” which turned me off the book. But your review isn’t what I expected at all and now I am intrigued. “The Housekeeper and the Professor” sounds like something I might buy, but first I need to get to “The Diving Pool” and “Revenge,” other Ogawa books that are on my bookshelves and are dying to be read.
Fair enough! I look forward to your reviews.
I borrowed Revenge from my library for the third time last week… Hopefully I will get to it this time!
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